Perceived Health and Life Satisfaction of Elderly People: Testing the Moderating Effects of Social Support, Attitudes Toward Aging, and Senior Privilege

Abstract

As health declines with age, it is critical to explore moderators that could buffer the impact of declining health on life satisfaction of elderly people. This study aims to test the moderating effects of social support, attitudes toward aging, and senior privilege on the relationship between perceived health and life satisfaction among elderly people. The study used a sample of 5809 Chinese elderly people. Multiple regression analyses were performed to test the moderating effects of the study variables along with gender difference. The results show that social support and attitudes toward aging do not moderate the relationship between perceived health and life satisfaction; senior privilege however, amplifies the impact of perceived health on life satisfaction for female elderly people. The findings recommend personalized provision of senior privilege based on health status and types of diseases, rather than only based on age; and suggest tailored female-oriented social services such as psychological counseling and humanistic care.

The mediating role of interpersonal needs on attitude towards ageing and its relationship with community sense and depression among community‐dwelling older adults

“…In addition, better self‐reported physical and mental health, higher levels of satisfaction, better financial status and lower levels of anxiety and depression have been associated with positive attitude towards ageing (Bryant et al., 2012). Attitude towards ageing as an intrapersonal mind‐set directly influences the life satisfaction of elderly people (Liu et al., 2019), and higher levels of life satisfaction is associated with increased quality of life (Stenhagen, Ekström, Nordell, & Elmståhl, 2014).…”

“…Individuals’ attitude towards ageing has a significant impact on health behaviours and outcomes (Bryant et al., 2016). A positive attitude towards ageing is associated with better self‐reported physical health and well‐being, lower levels of depression and anxiety, and increased life satisfaction (Bryant et al., 2012; Lamont, Nelis, Quin, & Clare, 2017; Liu, Wei, Peng, & Xue, 2019). Moreover, a positive attitude towards own ageing among older adults serves as a psychological resource to moderate the effects of the ageing process (Mock & Eibach, 2011) and associated with better physical health and functioning, mental health and higher level of self‐efficacy (Bellingtier & Neupert, 2018; Tovel, Carmel, & Raveis, 2019), better sense of dignity (Kisvetrova et al, 2019) and protective factor for health including those with cancer (Martin et al., 2019).…”

Bereavement meanings and the conditions for successful social support service encounters

“…They also suggested that social support from the immediate circle may become increasingly less common due to modern lifestyles (divorce, geographic mobility). Beyond the field of marketing (Van Dolen and Weinberg, 2017; Beatson et al , 2020), social support has been examined in many disciplines, namely, psychology, social psychology, health education and medicine (Benkel et al , 2009; Calvete and de Arroyabe, 2012; Lin et al , 2020; Liu et al , 2020). These studies have rapidly attempted to distinguish various types of social support differentiated either by their nature and the function performed or by the fact that the social support is perceived, objective or used (Liu et al , 2020).…”

“…Beyond the field of marketing (Van Dolen and Weinberg, 2017; Beatson et al , 2020), social support has been examined in many disciplines, namely, psychology, social psychology, health education and medicine (Benkel et al , 2009; Calvete and de Arroyabe, 2012; Lin et al , 2020; Liu et al , 2020). These studies have rapidly attempted to distinguish various types of social support differentiated either by their nature and the function performed or by the fact that the social support is perceived, objective or used (Liu et al , 2020). One of the most common classifications (Van Dolen and Weinberg, 2017) distinguishes five types of social support (informational, tangible, esteem, network and emotional).…”

“…Defined as “the support provided by a support giver to help the support seeker cope with an issue or event” (Cutrona and Russell, 1990), social support has been examined in many fields such as psychology, social psychology, health education and medicine (Benkel et al , 2009; Calvete and de Arroyabe, 2012; Liu et al , 2020), management and information systems (Huang et al , 2019) and marketing (Gentry et al , 1995a; Van Dolen and Weinberg, 2017; Beatson et al , 2020). These studies have focused on different populations (e.g.…”